If you're one of millions who like to plop down hard-earned cash and add some intrigue to your Major League Baseball-watching experience, betting the over/under on teams' win totals is a good way to use the game's lengthy 162-game schedule to your advantage.
By exploiting even the smallest inefficiencies is sportsbooks' projections, you can make some real rainy-day scratch come October. However, making the wrong bets can lead you to a long-odds crapshoot akin to pulling a slot machine lever at the Reno Airport. So, with that in mind, here's our pick of the 5 Best Over/Under Bets For The 2015 Major League Baseball Season.
(All over/under projections courtesy of Bovada.lv)
OVER
Baltimore Orioles (82.5 wins)
Seriously, Vegas? Yes, Baltimore lost Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis, and Andrew Miller to the free-agent whirlwind this offseason, but the runaway 2014 AL East champions are (re-)loaded for bear regardless. The rotation and most of the bullpen remain mostly intact, the team's overall solid-to-great defense should snatch away a couple wins from the jaws of defeat, and the seeming full-scale return of three impact pieces (Manny Machado, Chris Davis, Matt Wieters) is more than enough to throw some Benjamins on the over.
Cleveland Indians (84.5 wins)
Cleveland won 85 games in spite of a horrid, no-good, awful April in 2014. With that in mind, imagine how the team could fare with bounce-back seasons from Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, and the injury-plagued Jason Kipnis. In addition, the starting rotation has a breakout candidate or two (Carlos Carrasco being one) just sitting there behind 2014 AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Some sportsbooks even have this line just above the .500 line in the 81.5-82.5 range. Some sportsbooks don't like money.
Toronto Blue Jays (82.5 wins)
Yes, the Jays lost pitching wunderkind Marcus Stroman to a season-ending ACL tear, forcing them to rely on unproven youths (Aaron Sanchez, Daniel Norris) in rounding out the starting rotation. That's all well and sucky, but the additions of Josh Donaldson, Michael Saunders, and Russell Martin to an already murderous lineup are enough to vault this team to 83- 87 wins -- especially with Martin's pitch-framing artistry behind the dish and the more-reliable-than-most-think veteran duo of RA Dickey and Mark Buehrle heading the rotation.
UNDER
Atlanta Braves (73.5 wins)
The starting rotation has enough upside to keep the Braves in some 2-1 & 3-2 games, but Atlanta's projected starting lineup is Nickelback jukebox party atrocious. Three of the team's four best hitters (Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward) left town this offseason, replaced by Nick Markakis and a handful of styrofoam peanuts. This franchise is obviously rebuilding in advance of their new stadium opening in 2017, and that likely means that 74 wins or more is a pipe dream here in 2015.
Cincinnati Reds (77.5 wins)
Raise your hand if you think a Reds team with almost no one in the starting lineup (besides Joey Votto) who gets on base at a decent clip is going to break 78 wins in the killer NL Central. We thought so. The Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and madeover Chicago Cubs have the pitching to feast on the Reds' inconsistency at the plate, and there's not enough oomph in the rotation behind Johnny Cueto and a currently-injured Homer Bailey to make up for that fact. Under here we come!
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